The subject matter set forth in this specification relates to a Hydraulic Fracturing Simulator Software adapted for designing and monitoring and evaluating petroleum reservoir fracturing, and, in particular, to a Hydraulic Fracturing Simulator Software adapted for simulating a phenomenon known as ‘slip’ or ‘debonding’ between adjacent layers of an Earth formation when designing and monitoring and evaluating petroleum reservoir fracturing.
In hydraulic fracturing, thousands of gallons of fluid are forced under high pressure underground to split open the rock in a subterranean formation, a process that is known as ‘petroleum reservoir fracturing’ associated with ‘a fracturing event’. Proppant or propping agent is carried into the fracture by a viscosified fluid, and deposited into the fracture. Proppant provides a permeable flow channel for formation fluids, such as oil and gas, to travel up the wellbore and to the Earth's surface. Fracturing involves many variables, including: viscosity of the fracturing fluid, rate of leak-off of fracturing fluid into the reservoir, proppant carrying capacity of the fluid, viscosity of the fluid as a function of temperature, time history of fluid volumes (i.e., the amount of fluid pumped over a given period of time), time history of proppant volumes, fluid physical constants, proppant properties, and the geological properties of various zones in the reservoir.
A Hydraulic Fracturing Simulator software is capable of modeling the ‘fracturing event’. In fact, the Hydraulic Fracturing Simulator software will design and monitor and evaluate the ‘petroleum reservoir fracturing’ associated with the ‘fracturing event’ from a time extending before, during, and after the ‘fracturing event’. However, when the Hydraulic Fracturing Simulator software designs and monitors and evaluates the ‘petroleum reservoir fracturing’ associated with the ‘fracturing event’, the Hydraulic Fracturing Simulator software should also function to model a phenomenon known as ‘interfacial slip’ or ‘debonding’. ‘Interfacial slip’ or ‘debonding’ between adjacent layers of an Earth formation will often exist during a ‘fracturing event’, and the ‘Hydraulic Fracturing Simulator software’ should model the ‘interfacial slip’ or ‘debonding’ that takes place during the ‘fracturing event’.
Therefore, a Hydraulic Fracturing Simulator Software is needed that is capable of modeling or simulating the ‘interfacial slip’ or ‘debonding’ which exists between adjacent layers of an Earth formation when the Hydraulic Fracturing Simulator Software is designing and monitoring and evaluating ‘petroleum reservoir fracturing’ associated with a ‘fracturing event’.